After-school Care Expansion News

As many parents are aware, the current before and after school care program is inadequate to meet the needs of Norquay families. That is, the current program, which is run by Collingwood Neighbourhood House, cannot accommodate all of the families who need before and after school care.

For the past year, Norquay’s administration, the Vancouver School Board and Collingwood Neighbourhood House have been working to try to solve this problem by finding another space in the school to offer before and after school care. In June, 2012, a potential space was identified in the new wing of the school. It was hoped that this space might enable more Norquay children to attend before and after school care starting in September 2013. However, it has since been determined that a number of renovations are needed to prepare that space for a childcare program, and that the daycare provider would be responsible for covering renovation costs. Collingwood Neighbourhood House has recently informed the school that it cannot afford to cover those costs. As a consequence, the expansion of the before and after school program has stalled. The administration has requested that Collingwood Neighbourhood House release a statement to clarify the situation.

At this moment, we do not anticipate that more childcare places will be available at Norquay in September 2013. The need for more before and after school care remains, however, and we hope that another solution can be found.